Timed practiceRun your own money self-testInvest on your own self-testJudge a company self-testCheat sheetPlan to an exam date
What intro exams usually look like
Introductory university courses in economics, finance and accounting often test you with a mix of:
- Multiple-choice questions on definitions and ideas.
- Short calculations: compound growth, present value, inflation rates, real rates, balance sheets that must balance.
- Short written answers that explain why, often using a small example.
Every course is different, so check your own syllabus and past papers first. Use these lessons to fill gaps, not as a replacement for your course.
Common exam mistakes
- Using 5 instead of 0.05. Rates go into formulas as decimals.
- Mixing up inflation and the index. An index of 104 means prices rose 4%, not 104%.
- Adding simple interest when the question says compound. Multiply by (1 + r) each year; don't add the same amount each time.
- Forgetting that a present value is smaller than the future amount when the interest rate is positive. If yours is bigger, check whether you multiplied instead of divided.
- Unbalanced balance sheets. Every transaction changes two things; if only one side moved, look for the missing half.
- No working shown. Many marks are given for method. Write each step, even on a calculator question.
Ready-made revision plans
For a plan built around your own exam date and your weak spots, use the study planner. These fixed plans space your reviews out, which works better than cramming (see Space it out).
2-week plan
4-week plan
| Day | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Learn: Compound interest, Present value. |
| 2 | Learn: Measuring inflation with a price index, Real and nominal interest rates. |
| 3 | Learn: Investors as a group earn the market minus costs, The balance sheet always balances. |
| 4 | Learn: Where stock returns come from, Owning the whole market. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 5 | Learn: Fund returns versus investor returns, Taxes are costs too. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 6 | Learn: When future returns are lower, Why past winners rarely repeat. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 7 | Learn: Is advice worth paying for?, Costs go on forever. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 8 | Learn: Bonds and money-market funds, New indexes and ETFs. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 9 | Learn: Graham, the arithmetic, and a plan, Investment versus speculation. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 10 | Learn: Inflation and the investor, A century of market history. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 11 | Learn: The defensive investor's portfolio, Defensive investors and stocks. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 12 | Learn: What the enterprising investor avoids, What the enterprising investor does. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 13 | Learn: Mr. Market, Living with fluctuations. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 14 | Learn: Investing in funds, Security analysis for the lay investor. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 15 | Learn: Per-share earnings and their traps, Comparing four companies. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 16 | Learn: The defensive investor's screen, The enterprising investor's screen. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 17 | Learn: Convertibles and warrants, Four extreme case histories. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 18 | Learn: Eight pairs of companies, Shareholders, managements and dividends. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 19 | Learn: Margin of safety (1): the idea, Margin of safety (2): in practice. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 20 | Learn: The superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville, Graham today. Then redo the quiz from 3 days ago. |
| 21 | Read the revision sheet, then cover it and write down what you remember. |
| 22 | Timed practice. Note every question you missed and reread that lesson. |
| 23 | Go over your list of misses only: reread, then redo those quizzes. |
| 24 | Rest day. Sleep helps memory settle. |
| 25 | Read the revision sheet, then cover it and write down what you remember. |
| 26 | Timed practice. Note every question you missed and reread that lesson. |
| 27 | Go over your list of misses only: reread, then redo those quizzes. |
| 28 | Timed practice. Note every question you missed and reread that lesson. Then an early night. |
These plans and lessons help you prepare. No study guide can promise a pass, this one included.